Now that the Hungarian Constitution incorporates (our non-existent) Christianity I sort of feel being under pressure to write more about exuberantly religious winemakers. I kind of hope this could be used in my favour (as an extenuating circumstance) when the full dictatorship finally takes place in the middle of the Carpatians and censorship will eventually (and inevitably) become part of our everyday life.

St. Andrea – Áldás, 2008

This is a Bikavér and as such, predictably unpredictable blend, but Kékfrankos, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Pinot Noir and Menoir make a unique yet approachable wine here. Fresh, medium dark ruby with purplish shades. The nose is dried tobacco leaves with some alcohol coming through. The ample palate is smoothly styled with a chewy mix of fruits presented in a soft velvety texture and with a long, delicately sour tannic finish. Medium bodied wine with well rounded, very subtle and perfectly integrated acidity.

Not too exciting but well made wine, would go well with a bistro meal.

Price: HUF 3000

A Cabernet Franc from 2006 cannot be bad, I thought, when I returned to the merchant where I previously bought the two rather disapopointing Bikavérs of Tóth István. I was right: this Cabernet Franc is quite what you expect from this varietal from that vintage.

Tóth István – Cabernet Franc, 2006

Fresh look of vibrant claret with purplish reflections and a pinkish rim, very unexpectedly from Eger’s artisan winemaker. The nose is fresh and fruity, with intense black-currant aroma and hints of spices. On the palate well balanced and structurally evolved with fairly rich, meaty berry fruits and a spicy undertone (black pepper mainly). Very good, delicious length. Not too weighty, the tannins are absorbed by sweet alcohol (14.6%). With some exposure to air the fruitiness is a touch reduced giving space for chocolate and sweet sour cherry over a thin layer of light minerality.

Well chosen style for the vintage and a best buy (I paid HUF 2000 for it on Budapest’s Orbán tér although the usual high street price is much higher than that).

When I ran into a massive sell-off of Tóth István Merlot wines in a grocery store (down by 60%) in Orbán tér I thought I’ve found the best buy of the month. Although I never understood the cult following of Tóth István, his wines never really disappointed me. The winemaker whose most recent wines on the market were made in 2004 is apparently liquidating his stock, but until heextends it to the much admired Bikavér Válogatás, let’s have a look at the naked Merlot from 2004. I bought a bottle and I found it a bit strange (with a mix symptom of corked wine and ethyl acetate). So I bough a second bottle and it felt the same, leding me to the conclusion that this must be the Eger terroir then.

Tóth István – Merlot, 2004

Blurred brownish turning towards purple. On the nose raspberry mingled with pomegranate, but a bit dull and stuffy. Well-balanced light palate with lively acidity finely embedded into the deep soft and slightly sour tannins.

My generation is growing up, now it’s official. The time when friends come over and bring interesting wines has finally come. And they’re not even wine freaks, but without any coordination three guys are now able to put together, independently, the following wines for a simple mid-week friendly conversation:

1. Hollóvár, Furmint 2008

2. Gróf Buttler, Pinot Noir 2007, Szarkás dűlő

3. Légli Géza, Jánoshegyi Merlot, 2008

4. Disznókő, Tokaji Late Harvest, 2000

Warming up with a Hollóvár can bring tears to the eye of any wine lover and virtually any Tokaji from 2000 would be a closure which would drive wine lovers mad.

As far as I can tell this Hollóvár Furmint 2008 has a deeper straw color than when I first tasted it in 2009, a new wine back then. It used to be more lively and more minerally, today it’s much more mature and maybe even a bit oxidated. Notes of baked corn and popcorn make it good enough, but not so exciting as the fresh and vibrant Furmint this wine used to be. Scores 5+/6- today.

Gróf Buttler’s Pinot Noir of Szarkás Dűlő from 2007 is still in very good shape right now, fairly complex just like before, but now reminding me of shrinken aszú grapes but dry, with firm tannins and flavors ranging from beetroot, through dried date to tobacco and some synthetic aromas at the finish. 7 points.

Légli Géza’s Kislaki Bormanufaktúra probably produced a lovely Merlot in 2008 but I screwed it up with some duck breast I prepared. I came to this conclusion by taking positive notes first but didn’t like it very much after I started the meal. Let’s leave it for next time.

Disznókő Tokaji Late Harvest 2000 is a Furmint but I can’t be sure, I won’t learn it from Disznókő’s website either (and once again, Flash websites should be banned). Anyway this wine is, as I expected, in very good shape and certainly will age well for another couple of years. It’s full of overriped, dried apricot and tea on the nose. Very well balanced palate, soft, botrytis-flavored highly concentrated substance flowing slowly into a very long and pleasant finish. You can call this a perfect closure.

(I had too much wine to be able to give out an objective score for this wine but a fair rating would be between 6-7 points probably).

Pale golden yellow wine with a light, weedy, Sauvignon blanc-esque nose and nettle. Very light, ultra thin wine yet well balanced with sharp but light acidity. It’s fantastically tasteless but somewhat refreshing.

Score: 3+/4–

Price: HUF 1000

This is Demeter Csaba’s debut on this blog and with a reason. But you always have to give people another chance don’t you, even if he clearly needs to rethink what to wear on the head on the photo on the front page of ones website (or on any other photo for that matter).

This is a blend of 70% Hárslevelű and 30% Olaszrizling, but you wouldn’t tell.

After 7 months in a large barrel Hanga is pale golden yellow with an intense spicy bouquet flavored by notes of ripe apple and a minerally undertone. Fruity palate with apple here too with a chalky accent. The wine is surprisingly enjoyable at room temperature of appr. 20 degrees celsius too, even thourh from the midpalate starts a tingling, scratchy sensation (tannins?) followed by a strange aroma closest to a detergent (yes my galss was clean!). Otherwise there’s lot of very juicy gooseberry with hints of apple. Good wine for just above a thousand, would serve summer grill parties well.

Score: 4, 4+

Price: HUF 1350 (well worth it)

My records show that Eger is the best Pinot Noir producing region in Hungary. Some of the Egri Pinots even have great ageing potential.

This Tekenőháti from Noszvaj has an elegant, warm, fleshy bouquet with restrained spices. Elegantly styled on the palate, well-balanced with a long smooth finish. Soft, ultra-thin tannic backbone supporting a light-weighted body. The wine develops a very complex and exciting bouquet with notes of fat forest soil, hints of farmyard notes, with very elegantly rounded edges. Very subtle acidity. Lovely wine with at least another 2-3 years of potential. I wish I could see what this wine will become.

Score: 7, 7-

Price: HUF 4500

Orsolya is the most charming of all overpriced cellars of Eger. Their 2005 Kutyahegyi Zweigelt is a classic wine, from a certain aspect. It (and some similarily well made wines) brought them fame (in certain circles), and although the childish wine labels remain, the innocence was soon lost.

I wrote about abused grapes recently and how Zweigelt was the most prominent. For many the breakthrough came from another producer from Villány but for me, Orsolya’s Zweigelt 2005 was it: dense, fruity but fresh, very much unlike the zweigelts we used to know. I expected a lot from Orsolya Pincészet but the next breakthrough hasn’t come yet, they couldn’t take their winemaking to the next level. The wines are mostly fine, never poor really, but always very pricy.

The Zweigelt 2008 is a violet wine with a wide pink rim. The bouquet is fresh and dense, full of plum jam and notes of blueberry, clove and hints of cinnamon. Fairly fruity on the palate too but it’s composed of less ripe material. Very fresh character with vibrant acidity and unripe tannin underneath it all. The wine’s still too young, hence the unripe walnut, red currant and later sour cherry elements. These are wrapped in a thin film of dark chocolate. Later acaí (the tropical fruit), lot of it.

Score: 5+

Price: HUF 3 800

When I see a Leányka I often hear the song Garota de Ipanema in my head (I love several covers of that song). “Tall and tan and young and lovely”, and all the rest of the lyrics should apply to a good Leányka, but it hardly ever does. I mentioned Mátraalja’s heavy burden in my last post.  Now one of Eger’s heavy burdens is the exact Leányka it used to be so famous (and infamous) for in the years of socialist mass production. Most Leánykas are still sold as bulk wine even on Eger’s Dobó tér itself, over the counter, out of metal or plastic bulks. No wonder sometimes you think Leányka couldn’t be different. Fortunately, Kaló, Orsolya and some others already proved it otherwinse.

This is clearly an entry-level wine of Gál Tibor, a quickly cashable asset, so I didn’t expect too much of it.

Pale yellow with greenish reflections. The nose is full of apple and especially pear. It’s intensity falls quicker than gravity would justify. This Leányka is freed of acidity and it’s relatively thin so nothing can disguise its long tartness from the midpalate except some pear flavor passing much quicker than that girl on that particular beach of the Cidade Maravilhosa. And then it’s just emptiness.

Score: 3+

Price: HUF 1400

Btw, haven’t seen the movie “Cidade de Deus” yet? You are missing one of the greatest movies of recent times. Honestly. It’s a must see.

I returned two st. Andrea Pinot Noirs in a row to the retailer because they were corked. The third one I took home was a Pinot from another vinyard, namely from Hangács of Demjén. I’ve never been there and I didn’t even know the place existed (I still doubt it a bit).

It turns out that St. Andrea Pinot Noirs are intentionally corked, or so they seem (leasson learned, Ráspi). But the shop clerk says it’s normal, a buyer brought back a lot of six bottles, all corked. I couldn’t believe my ears.

Anyway, this one from Hangács is suspiciously similar to the other two. First, it has the same blurred pinkish brick color, then it has the same bouquet (and that’s not exactly a compliment). Well the cinnamon, rose and woodchip aromas are not exactly repelling but they’re not huge either. The palate is embarrassingly desintegrated, with harsh components, firm tannic backbone and a hint of (positively) sweet compote element. I hoped it’d get better with time but it got worse.

Score: 4+